Application for Mixed use properties to be rated at residential rating

Mixed use property owners, who are being billed at a business property rate tariff, can now apply to the City’s Rates and Taxes department to be charged at residential rates.

Property rates are levied based on zoning as stipulated by town planning department. Zoning, defined as land use rights, drives the category of property, which in turn specifies property rates tariff rating. For example, properties zoned residential are categorised as residential category and are therefore levied a residential property rates tariff. In terms of the Policy, properties zoned special are categorised as business, commercial and industrial and hence rated at a business property rates tariff, even if they are used for residential purposes.

The City’s rates policy stipulates that properties zoned to permit a mix of commercial and residential usage be rated according to the highest tariff applicable to the permitted use. Mixed Property zoned to permit a mix of commercial and residential usage is therefore rated in the business category.

Where a property’s zoning allows more than one permitted use and where the actual use of the property is used dominancy (Fifty plus one percent) for residential purposes, the entire multipurpose property will be rated in accordance with the residential tariff.

The residential rating will apply on condition that the property owner submits a certificate issued by a professional architect certifying the fifty plus one percent residential dominant usage. Download application form